Division I Women

Porretto Leads Ohio State Upset of No. 18 Louisville

from press release

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Junior midfielder Jennifer
Porretto notched a career-high five points, while sophomore Cian
Dabrowski scored a season-best three goals to help the Ohio State
women's lacrosse team defeat No. 18 Louisville, 12-11, Tuesday
afternoon at Ohio Stadium. With the victory, the Buckeyes (3-3)
improve to 3-0 at home in 2014, snapping the Cardinals' four-game
win streak.

"I thought we stepped up to the challenge today against a great
Louisville team," head coach Alexis Venechanos said. "We had
different people make plays for us at different times and we held
possession when we needed to. I thought our draws were fantastic
and there are some things we need to clean up, but overall, I
thought this was a great victory for our program."

Porretto, a native of Smithtown, N.Y., scored three goals in the
first half and added a goal and an assist in the second half en
route to the team's third home win. Dabrowski went 2-for-2 on free
position shots in the win vs. the Cardinals on a clear Columbus
afternoon in the Horseshoe. The contest is the first of
three-consecutive games for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium. Ohio
State improves to 5-1 all-time vs. Louisville.

Poretto scored the team's first two goals of the game, but
Louisville was able to jump out to a 6-2 advantage with less than
14 minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Scarlet and
Gray were able to go on a four-goal run to tie it at 6-6 heading
into halftime. Dabrowski found the back of the net at 12:25 on her
first free position to make it 6-3, while senior Kaila Gottlick,
who tallied three points vs. the Cardinals took it the distance of
the field for the unassisted score at 7:58 to make it a two-goal
game.

Senior Katie Chase scored her 10th goal of the season at 4:39 to
cut the Cardinal lead to one goal, 6-5. Junior Jackie Cifarelli
then sent a perfectly-timed pass in front of net to Poretto at 3:09
to tie the contest, 6-6. Cifarelli now has 19 assists this year,
which is second-most in the nation.

After halftime, Louisville scored back-to-back goals to jump out to
an 8-6 lead. Porretto scored her fourth goal of the contest on an
unassisted score at 27:08 to make it 8-7, while Dabrowski tied it
9-9, after scoring at 16:53 and 14:01, respectively. Dabrowski now
has seven goals this year - one shy of tying her season total from
2013.

Chase and Cifarelli connected for the team's 11th goal at 7:47
followed by junior Kelsea Ayers, who made it a three-goal contest
when she scored off an assist from Porretto at 3:16.

The Cardinals made it a close finish following two goals at 2:41
and 1:13, respectively, to make it 12-11. However, offsetting
penalties in the Ohio State zone forced a jump ball situation.
Junior defender Taylor Donahue was able to get her stick on the
ball before Gottlick grabbed the groundball and advanced it to the
Louisville territory as time expired on the clock. Sophomore
Christine Easton had a solid performance at midfield, collecting a
game-high seven draw controls.

"I thought we played with a lot of guts in those last two minutes
being a man down and had to play through the penalty which was
something we haven't deal with this year," Venechanos said.

Overall, Ohio State held a 15-10 advantage in draw controls, while
having a 20-17 advantage in groundballs. Both teams notched 20
shots. Junior goalie Tori DeScenza improves to 3-3 this year,
collecting five saves vs. the Cardinals.

The Buckeyes return to Ohio State at Noon Sunday when they face No.
4 Northwestern to open ALC action. As always, admission is
free.